1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to audiovisual systems and methods for storing and playing back audiovisual data, and more specifically, to audiovisual systems and methods which provide information to the user to select stored audiovisual data for playback.
2. Description of the Related Art
Audiovisual systems, such as personal video recorders, provide users with the capability of storing audiovisual data in digital form on random-access, read/write, non-volatile storage media for later playback. As the number of programming channels available to users increases, and the storage capacity of such storage media increases, users will have heightened needs for assistance with selecting programs to watch and with managing the stored audiovisual data.
Various systems and methods have previously been developed to provide users with assistance in selecting which audiovisual data to store on the random-access storage media from the increasingly large amount of audiovisual programming available. For example, electronic program guide information can be displayed to the user in a variety of forms, thereby providing the user with information regarding the content of programs to be broadcast which can be the basis for selective storing of particular audiovisual programs. In addition, other systems can utilize preference determination modules which include algorithms to detect the viewing preferences of a user or multiple users. Such systems can initiate the storing of programs which satisfy the preference criteria of the user without requiring the user to search through the electronic program guide information.
While electronic program guide information and preference determination modules assist the user to select audiovisual programs for storing, there continues to be a need for assistance with regard to managing the increasingly large amount of audiovisual data stored by the audiovisual system. Many of the problems identified with the selection of audiovisual programs to be stored exist also with the selection of stored audiovisual programs to be played back. In addition, in existing systems, the information regarding the stored audiovisual programs and the user's selection of programs to be played back are not provided in an atavistic manner, thereby making the process of playback selection unduly onerous to the user.